Father Christmas
by Rich and Chewy
Summary: Rating for safety. After 4 years of Misty walking out on Christmas Eve Ash confronts her about why, not realising the answer was so depressing. One-Shot Ash and Misty friendship fic. R&R!


LA Angel: Hey hey!!! How are you all? This is just a short one shot Ash and Misty friendship ficcy. : ) The idea came from the movie Gremlins so it should be ok... I hope it's good! Oh and if you read my other story "The Light of Evil" then stand by because the second chapter is on its way!!! You can expect it in the next week or so! Hmmmmm... so much for my 'hope to get it up in two weeks' : P Oh well. Oh yeah and I have to say I don't own Pokemon, some thing about being sued if I don't say it or something... Yeah.  
  
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Christmas. A time when families and friends get together to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Presents are given out to those close to you, to show them just what they mean to you, and a big Christmas feast to calm out hunger. Ash Ketchum is one of those people who greatly loves Christmas, maybe more than anything else in the world. Every year he hangs his stocking out for Santa to fill with lovely presents, as do his best friends, Brock, May, Max and of course, Misty. Misty is another one of those people who is a great lover of December the 25th, but something always comes over Misty on Christmas Eve. Every year that she had traveled with Ash, he noticed that at 11pm, on the dot when she thought everyone else was asleep, she creped out of her room and into the lobby of the Pokemon Center. Ash had followed her every year to see what she was doing. It was always the same. She would stand in front of the Christmas Tree, and stare at it for an hour. This year, Ash was determined to find out why she did this.  
  
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'10:59,' Ash thought to himself looking at the digital clock next to his bunk bed, 'one minute until she walks out.'  
  
He sat there in silence, not daring to move a muscle afraid he might give away that he was still awake. A loud beep broke the silence of the room and Ash heard Misty's sleeping bag rustle above him. He looked over at the ladder at his feet, sure enough, Misty was climbing down. Ash saw Misty's foot miss a step and she came tumbling down to the ground. He wanted to ask her if she was ok but decided against it, as it would give away that he had been watching her.  
  
"Owwww..." Misty groaned, clutching her ankle. Shaking it off, she stood up and quietly made her way out of the room. Ash noticed that she was limping.  
  
When Ash was sure that Misty was out of the room and down the hall, he sat up in his bed and followed her to the lobby. As Ash had expected, she was standing in front of the Christmas Tree.  
  
"Daddy... Why did you have to be so stupid?" Misty sobbed. "I never cared about the presents... I just want you back daddy. I miss you so much."  
  
Ash had never heard Misty talk about either of her parents before, questions about them had plagued his mind for years but he had never wanted to ask her about them, fearing that he might upset her. After all he never liked to talk about his father who had died when he was seven, what if something had happened to her parents? Then he'd just feel guilty.  
  
"Misty?" Asked the ebony haired trainer. "Are you ok?"  
  
"Ash!" Misty said, clearly quite startled. She composed herself quickly and continued on. "What are you doing up this late?"  
  
"I could ask you the same question. You come out here every year at exactly the same time. I've noticed it since I was just starting out as a trainer." Ash told her. "Is there a reason to that?"  
  
Misty smiled at her long time friend. "Yeah..." She motioned for Ash to come over to her. "When I was seven years old my sisters, my mum and I were sitting in the lounge room waiting for my dad to get home. It was Christmas Eve and we always watched the carolers on the TV, it was a family tradition. We waited for hours and hours but no dad. Christmas came and went and still no dad. My sisters went on with their lives, going out with boys and catching and training Pokemon. My mum called the Police and started a search. I had stopped eating and sleeping, I just wanted my dad back. A few days later my mum asked me to start the fire, it was so cold that day. That's when I noticed the smell." Ash could see tears starting to flow down her cheeks rather rapidly.  
  
"Mist, you don't need to tell me! If it's going to get you this upset, I don't want you to tell me!" Ash tried to stop his best friend from hurting herself emotionally anymore, but she shook her head.  
  
"No Ash. I want to tell you. It's time I let it out, you're my best friend, I can tell you." She smiled at Ash again and wiped her cheeks. "Mum rang the Fire Men. We expected them to pull out a Meowth or something. But... instead of that, they pulled out my dad. He was dressed in a Santa suit, he was coming down the chimney to surprise me for Christmas. He slipped, broke his neck," Misty began to sob uncontrollably, "died instantly."  
  
Misty's whole body was shacking and she clenched her fists. Tears were freely rolling down her cheeks. She was just about to break down and flop to the floor when she felt Ash's hand wipe away her tears gently. His other hand grabbed onto Misty's clenched fist. Her hand relaxed in his and she softly gripped his.  
  
"I'm so sorry Misty..." Ash said genuinely.  
  
"It's ok... I had such a great relationship with my dad. He always said I meant the world to him. It wasn't the same with my mum though, I loved her, just not as much as my dad. When she found out about my dad, she went into a state of great depression. She became an alcoholic, slit her wrists."  
  
Ash squeezed Misty's hand trying to comfort her. "I'm sorry Mist." She lent her head on Ash's shoulder and let a few tears loose. "My father died when I was seven as well, so I know how you feel. But don't worry, I'll always be here for you, I promise I will never go anywhere." Misty smiled lovingly at the boy who was trying so desperately to cheer her up. "Hey look, it's snowing."  
  
The two looked towards the window, it was indeed snowing. "It's so pretty." Misty said in a whisper. Ash nodded in agreement. They stood there for a few minutes, just staring out the window.  
  
"Pidgey! Pidgey! Pidgey! Pidgey!" The two friends looked up at the Pidgey clock. It was 12 o'clock.  
  
"Looks like we're going to have a white Christmas." Misty smiled contentedly.  
  
"Merry Christmas Misty."  
  
"Merry Christmas Ash."  
  
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LA Angel: Well there you go! My fic! Please R&R... Please? Oh come on! Please review! Awwww... man...Go on! 


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